


Persistence of the Good

by thishasnomeaning



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: 5 Things, M/M, Master/Slave, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-09-11 05:54:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8957041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thishasnomeaning/pseuds/thishasnomeaning
Summary: Five things that add up to love.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aliencupcake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aliencupcake/gifts).



_Praise_

 

Torveld had always loved to give people compliments. It was an easy thing to do that brought people joy. In Torveld’s opinion there was something good in everyone. Often, people didn’t notice how attentive they were, or how pretty, or how honest. Torveld loved people. And he loved to see them smile when he told them how lovely they were.

 

There was a thing Torveld loved to do more: To praise his subordinates. Knowing that there was a number of people who would give their best out of loyalty to him, to please him, and that he would reward those people in return – that was something special.

 

With Erasmus, things were different. Better. The young man had a habit of always doing just the perfect thing at just the perfect timing.

 

When Erasmus sang a song with so much emotion in his voice that it made Torveld cry, when Erasmus appeared at Torveld’s desk with exactly the type of fruits Torveld had craved at that moment, when Erasmus was sweet as temptation incarnate – Torveld could not help being struck with awe, and with pride.

 

Erasmus was a treasure and Torveld used every opportunity to shower him with praise. Still, any praise Torveld could give Erasmus felt like an understatement.

 

But, _oh_ , did Erasmus love to be praised.

 

_Claim_

Sometimes, in the morning, when Torveld was already up and about doing politics, Erasmus looked at himself in the mirror. He was not vain, but Torveld liked to leave love bites on Erasmus’ neck.

 

And Erasmus loved to look at them in the morning. To be reminded of the night before and the many, many nights yet to come. To be reminded of the person he belonged to. To have proof.

 

_Song_

With diplomacy, Torveld could prevent a war or overthrow a king.

 

With music, Erasmus could create a world within a song.

 

Torveld’s eyes were beautiful, his strong hands, his dimples, when he laughed. Flowers were beautiful, as was a starry night and the vast blue canvas that was the sky on a warm summer day.

 

But most beautiful of all was music. And because music was so beautiful, Erasmus wrote Torveld song after song.

 

The more time there was between Erasmus and those awful weeks in Vere, the easier it was for Erasmus to sing.

 

And Torveld listened. And he relished.

 

The world within the song grew. And grew. And grew.

 

_Choice_

 

And then, one day, all slaves in Patras were free by law. And Torveld asked Erasmus what he wanted to do. Erasmus hesitated for a moment. This was important – still, the decision was easy and thinking about it did not make it harder.

 

“I do not wish to change a thing. This is who I am. This is how I want to live. You are who I want to live with.”

 

Torveld whispered something in Erasmus’ ear that made him blush.

 

The reply came promptly: “This slave lives to serve you, Master Torveld.”

 

Torveld thought that Erasmus had no idea how big of an honour being served by him really was. Erasmus’ pleasure, Erasmus’ dedication, Erasmus’ life – he had dedicated all of this to Torveld without second thoughts.

 

Erasmus trusted Torveld and Torveld vowed to never breach that trust. Not ever.

 

Sometimes, Torveld thought that he could as well say that he lived to be served. And to be trusted.

 

_Habit_

When Erasmus was serving Torveld he used words and gestures that people had used before him for generations. There were set phrases he knew by heart that had not changed in hundreds of years.

 

The thought of continuing made Erasmus happy.

 

So many times, the world was good when something continued. When he fell asleep with Master Torveld by his side, he could rest assured that Master Torveld would still be there when he woke up the next morning. And this would happen night after night, morning after morning.

 

When King Damianos wrote about a project he had planned to make Akielos a better country, it was good to read about the fruits of those plans in the next letter. When Kallias had announced that he would visit, he really did visit. And when Erasmus was looking for the palace cats he often knew where to find them.

 

Continuity did not mean that things had to stay the same. It was strange. The more room there was for continuity to grow, for tradition to flourish and for love to mount, the more room there was for new things to happen. If Erasmus wanted to learn a new skill or to go a step further he needed something to hold onto and to build on.

 

Torveld gave him lots to build on. Rules. Security. Kisses. Love bites. Encouragement. Praise.

 

And Erasmus stepped further and further into the world.

 

When he was younger he had been trained to become a vessel. Every last bit of weakness had been wiped out of him. Until he was an image of perfection. He had been promised satisfaction in return. An ancient type of satisfaction that only a select few could achieve. And he was to be among them.

 

Now, he knew that he could experience the satisfaction that he craved. He could not imagine life without serving, without belonging to someone.

But he also knew that the world would not end if he made a mistake. That he did not need to watch after his purity as if it was something that could be taken away from him by force. He knew that his skin did not need to be pale and his hair did not need to be bleached.

 

He was enough. He could do what he loved to do and that was enough. Torveld would not suddenly stop to love him. There was no reason to be afraid. To Erasmus, continuing to live by the ancient rules felt right. But if a rule ever felt wrong to him, it was likely that the rule was wrong, not Erasmus. There was nothing wrong with Erasmus.

 

Together, Torveld and Erasmus would make a habit out of love.


End file.
